The video production of two documentaries produced by Edit House Productions, LLC for the 50th anniversary of Astronaut Harrison Schmitt’s Apollo 17 moon landing were awarded gold and bronze Telly Awards in the 45th annual awards. Edit House’s Matt Smith and Ed Smith collaborated on the videos, including filming on the floor of the original Mission Control room at the Johnson Space Center in Houston.The production of the two documentaries were nearly a year in the making. As part of the research, Ed listened to nearly the entire Mission Control communication with the Apollo 17 spacecraft. Among the interesting things that we learned from Dr. Schmitt: the moon smells like gunpowder, and there are active moonquakes that take place, presenting a challenge to the planned moon encampments of the upcoming Artemis missions.
Much of the video was filmed in Mission Control, now a museum. Ed and Matt traveled to Houston to record an extensive interview with Dr. Schmitt which was later transcribed and edited. Several versions of his story of preparing and traveling to the moon were produced for different audiences he spoke to, leading up to the 50th anniversary of the moon landing in December 2023.
While they were in Houston, Dr. Schmitt asked if they could record another interview with a friend of his. The friend turned out to be Astronaut Fred Haise of Apollo 13! Haise was the lunar module pilot on the mission, which was aborted after an oxygen tank ruptured two days into the mission. The crew looped around the moon before returning safely to Earth on April 17, 1970.
Ed and Matt say the production of Apollo 17 videos for Dr. Schmitt was one of the high points of their careers. “It was an honor to work with Dr. Schmitt and tell his story,” said Ed. “What an amazing man and what an amazing time for Americans in the space race.”
This is about the 35th Telly Award that Ed and Matt have been awarded. If you visit our office in Rio Rancho, New Mexico, you’ll see them displayed throughout the building. The first Telly Award win dates back to 1990 when Ed won a Telly for a Pizza Hut “College Recruitment” video. The Telly Awards honor excellence in video and television. Each year, more than 12,000 projects from six continents and all 50 US states are entered. Video productions are judged by industry leaders representing television networks, production companies, global marketing companies, and streaming platforms around the world. In the past, the team of Edit House producers and directors have also been judges for the Tellys.
